Chapter 1108: Who is the Pawn? Who is Setting the Game?

The night was like flowing light, shimmering with silver, shrouding the Xiangong.

But it could not cover the immortal music and the sounds of giggling from the Hundred Flowers Palace.

Drifting over.

It fell into the ears of Zhong Chi outside the Shaoji Hall and also entered the hall, heard by Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked up, his gaze falling on the figure outside the hall.

"Zhong Chi is a bit strange today..."

A glint of thought appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

In the past, this reading companion mostly left when night fell; unless he was notified otherwise, it was rare for him to follow him so late.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing took out a chessboard with a wave of his hand and spoke indifferently.

"Zhong Chi."

The reading companion outside the door heard this and immediately turned back, walking a few steps closer to the hall door.

"Young Master, I am here."

"Come over and play chess with me."

Xu Qing's gaze fell on the chessboard, and he spoke casually.

"Alright."

Zhong Chi nodded hurriedly and ran to Xu Qing; when he arrived, Xu Qing took out a piece and placed it on the chessboard.

The piece fell, and the wind rose.

The cold wind in the night whistled in the Punishment Thunder Palace.

In the wind, the middle-aged punishment officer quickened his pace.

"My identity has likely been mastered by someone, so the various signs in the Punishment Thunder Palace today all give me a sense of urgency, and the information regarding the movements of the three True Monarchs was also only learned today."

While moving forward, beneath the punishment officer's seemingly normal expression, thoughts spread.

"In the dark, there is a feeling that if I don't act tonight, there will be no more opportunities."

"This matter is strange..."

The middle-aged punishment officer narrowed his eyes, a cold glint appearing in them.

"Someone has treated me as bait, forcing me to act today."

"Because the information I mastered indeed has a time limit; if it were late, its effect would not be enough to support the act of betraying the palace, and the ripples caused would not meet my requirements."

"So no matter how you look at it, acting tonight is the last chance."

"Plus the rumors of recent days..."

The middle-aged punishment officer was thoughtful.

"Is the fisherman the person who spread the rumors, or the person in the rumors?"

"If the latter is really the Fourth True Monarch, then his goal is naturally to fish out the former."

"But it is also possible that the one who spread the rumors is also this Fourth True Monarch, to confuse others' cognition, making them think there is a chess player confronting him."

"Thereby appearing with even greater errors under this wrong cognition."

Thinking of this, a cold glint flashed in the middle-aged punishment officer's eyes.

"But no matter what, since I, Evil Spirit Child, have been calculated into this, then..."

The next moment, his mind suddenly moved, his thoughts were interrupted, and his footsteps paused.

His expression also became solemn in an instant, and he lowered his head to bow forward.

"Master."

Before him, in the night, a person walked out.

This person was an old man, wearing the Daoist robe of the Punishment Thunder Palace, carrying his own majesty; after walking out, his gaze fell on this middle-aged punishment officer, and his brows slowly wrinkled.

"It's so late, you are in such a hurry, what for?"

The middle-aged punishment officer's heart tightened; it was truly because the person before him was his host's master, and also a deacon of the Punishment Thunder Palace, holding great power. Although he was cold to him on weekdays, the majesty in his memory was very strong.

Especially since there were a few times before when the other party seemed to have some doubts about his identity.

He must be careful in responding right now.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged punishment officer spoke in a low voice.

"Master, disciple Lei Guang has had too much Yang energy recently, so I plan to go to the Thunder Pool to collect some night thunder light to neutralize my own thunder method."

Hearing this, the old man's gaze was like lightning, sweeping across the disciple before him.

Under his gaze, it seemed he could penetrate everything and see that the disciple indeed had too much Yang thunder in his body, before he nodded slightly and spoke with profound meaning.

"There have been some rumors in the Xiangong recently, but since the Immortal Lord and several Palace Lords and Elders have not given instructions, I have not investigated too much."

"And you, if you have any information later, you can tell me."

Saying this, the old man's figure merged into the dark night, leaving no trace.

And the middle-aged punishment officer lowered his head to acknowledge, waited for a moment, and then stepped away, gradually walking far away.

Until his figure completely disappeared, in the dark night, the figure of the old deacon of the Punishment Thunder Palace appeared again.

Gazing into the distance, his gaze was profound.

The gaze from behind made the middle-aged punishment officer feel great pressure.

But fortunately, it didn't last too long, and the gaze dissipated.

This made him breathe a sigh of relief in his heart, walking faster and faster.

The destination was a long-distance teleportation array beside the Thunder Pool.

He had already mastered the conditions required to activate the array.

So as long as he walked into the teleportation array tonight and successfully activated it to leave, he could pass the message out.

Using this matter as the foundation for betraying the palace.

This was his Dao; he wanted to betray the palace here, and even if it violated history, as long as he succeeded, even if this history was a mirror image, it didn't matter.

The Constitution Treasure remnant sword in his body would be greatly nourished, thereby opening up to a greater extent.

"But the premise is, I must leave alive!"

While pondering, he got closer and closer to the Thunder Pool.

And as he got closer, a ripple of space-time that could only be perceived by those possessing the Space-Time Constitution was continuously strengthening and continuously becoming violent.

Like a torch in the dark night.

Reflected in Xu Qing's perception.

Xu Qing's expression remained as usual, and he placed the piece in his hand on the chessboard.

He did not know what the Fourth True Monarch was going to do tonight, but Li Mengtu's abnormality made him ponder.

In addition, he had also been waiting for the Fourth True Monarch's reaction to the rumors these past few days.

And at this moment, such a space-time ripple appeared...

Xu Qing suddenly spoke.

"Zhong Chi, have you encountered something? Playing chess with me, you look uneasy."

Zhong Chi heard this and hesitated, then noticed the Young Master before him sweeping his gaze over him, and he smiled bitterly.

"Indeed, I couldn't hide it from the Young Master. Sigh... I confessed to Fairy Xiaohui of the Spirit Management Palace yesterday; although she didn't refuse and said she would consider it, so... I keep thinking about this matter."

Xu Qing smiled and waved his hand.

"Alright, since you have something on your mind, you don't need to continue playing chess. Go and invite the Fourth True Monarch; playing chess with the Fourth Senior Brother is more flavorful."

Zhong Chi hesitated again in his heart upon hearing this; he didn't think much because in his memory, the Young Master before him and the Fourth True Monarch had always had a good relationship and often played chess together in the past.

It was just that now that the Immortal Lord Jiguang's rotation was imminent, there was only one True Monarch left in the entire Xiangong, so things became more numerous, and they didn't do it as usual.

"This might be an opportunity... If I can make this person participate in destroying the Fourth True Monarch's affairs, then it would be interesting."

Zhong Chi's thoughts flashed, and he showed hesitation on his face.

"What is it again?"

Xu Qing frowned.

"Young Master, today the True Monarch might not have time..." Zhong Chi spoke hurriedly.

Xu Qing looked at Zhong Chi.

Zhong Chi's mind turned rapidly, and his words continued.

"Young Master, I heard that the True Monarch is going to do something big tonight."

Xu Qing was startled.

"Who did you hear that from, what big thing?"

"Rumors among the disciples; aren't there rumors recently? And then the news from the True Monarch's mansion says the True Monarch is going to catch someone tonight."

Zhong Chi carefully organized his words.

Hearing this, Xu Qing's smile slowly faded, and a sharp glint rose in his eyes.

"Rumors are ethereal things; how can one believe them! And the person who spreads rumors is often the biggest beneficiary!"

"Especially since it involves my Fourth Senior Brother."

"And the Fourth Senior Brother works for the Xiangong, so it is inevitable that some people will be dissatisfied and use this to slander! I originally thought everyone would just laugh it off, but I didn't expect they would still be talking about it!"

"Tomorrow, pass on my oral instruction: in the Xiangong, no such rumors are allowed to appear again, especially you, keep your mouth shut!"

Xu Qing reprimanded.

Zhong Chi sighed in his heart, and under his habitual cognition and thinking, he naturally saw that the person before him truly had such thoughts.

So he understood in his heart that wanting to use the Young Master to ruin the Fourth True Monarch's affairs was too difficult.

So he hurriedly nodded to acknowledge.

Xu Qing's expression then softened a bit; he swept his gaze over Zhong Chi and spoke indifferently.

"However, you are quite well-informed; do you like prying into news so much?"

Zhong Chi was startled and spoke hurriedly.

"To do things for the Young Master, one must be clever!"

Hearing this, Xu Qing smiled.

"Alright, you have followed me for many years, and I know your temperament. You have indeed worked hard recently; I see your complexion has become paler recently. Go down and rest well. As for Xiaohui, I will have someone help you tomorrow."

Zhong Chi put on a moved look, bowed deeply, and then left with regret in his heart.

Looking at Zhong Chi's back, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and moved his gaze away, looking toward the direction of the Thunder Pool.

That was the area where the space-time ripples were becoming increasingly violent in his perception.

At this moment, these ripples were like a sea of fire in Xu Qing's eyes.

"It seems this is the Fourth True Monarch's response to me."

"Someone is changing history there."

"Then, for me, to go or not to go..."

"If I don't go, and the Fourth True Monarch succeeds in stopping it, making order complete, then it is equivalent to having one less stone in my hand."

Xu Qing pondered and looked at the endgame on the chessboard.

He picked up a piece and placed it himself.

And the night wind outside was whistling even more.

In the dark, in the chess game, someone... was also placing pieces.

Thus, the middle-aged punishment officer's figure galloped in the wind.

His speed became faster and faster, until he flashed past the Thunder Pool and flew toward the teleportation array.

In an instant, he was already close.

But the moment he walked into the array's range, the eight directions shook, as if an invisible seal was shrouding this place.

A chill also surged from outside his body, spreading through his whole body in the blink of an eye, becoming a sharp killing intent, locking his mind.

Following along with it was a calm voice.

"Evil Spirit Child, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

In the void, chains representing order appeared out of thin air, circling the eight directions, and in the middle of these chains, the Fourth True Monarch's figure was walking step by step on the chains.

As he approached, the terrifying pressure was earth-shattering.

Countless chains vibrated, emitting a clattering sound.

And these sounds were like the words of order in this world, making the rippling space-time stable, making all disorderly things return to their original path.

"Xing Huanzi!"

The middle-aged punishment officer spoke in a low voice.

"Even if your Constitution and the Fourth True Monarch's Constitution are the same path, so what!"

Almost the moment the middle-aged punishment officer's words were spoken, a sharp sword qi erupted from his body, and behind him, a broken iron sword manifested.

The moment it appeared, peerless killing intent was surging.

At the same time, the moment the two took action, in the Punishment Thunder Palace, the middle-aged punishment officer's master... that deacon old man, at this moment, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, looking toward the direction of the teleportation array.

A cruel smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he whispered.

"Xing Huanzi, you are fishing, I wonder if you know that I am fishing for you!" ===== CHAPTER 1111 =====